Drifting Whitecaps
by NightsBlackRose13
Summary: "On a sea of moving emotion, Tossed about like a ship on the ocean, I set a course for winds of fortune" A rogue ninja meets a crew of pirates
1. Chapter 1

Thatch PoV

Today was a very special day… Beach Day! A summer island, no chores, an ocean to swim in (for those without Devil Fruits, of course), no chores, sun tanning, swim suits, and most importantly no chores. As a division commander Thatch didn't have many chores but the ones he did have were tedious. The paperwork for his division, cleaning up after pranks, and overseeing the kitchen were not particularly straining tasks most of the time, but they were very boring. He was looking forward to a day of relaxation and fun with those currently aboard Pop's flagship.

It was a small, _uninhabited_ summer island with a nice golden beach backed by condensed forest. Ace had been talking about going hunting later in the massive trees. Something Thatch was happy to support. The kid had an immense appetite, and his hunting might ease the strain on the kitchen supplies. So when a small girl burst out of the encroaching habitat, to say his heart stopped would be an understatement.

' _Ooookay… I know we've had a lot of strange things happen in the New World, but this is a new one. Is that blood?_ ' He squinted his eyes and watched as red liquid dripped down from gashes in the thick muscles of her arm. ' _That_ is _blood._ '

The girl was stumbling closer with every passing second and the closer she came, the more details he was able to make out: Loosely fluttering bandages around her neck –' _another injury?_ '- and the glint of two bizarrely shaped swords hanging from either hip-' _non-sheathable. Who carries swords around that you can't sheath?_ '- that made him consider, very shortly, the possibility of her being a civilian. ' _Uh, no, those swords give_ me _the creeps._ _Maybe she's here to challenge Pops, that hasn't happened in a while. Though I don't recognize her from any bounty posters. May have not been a noteworthy one, but I think I would have recognize that hair color. It's way too similar to that other Yonko whose name shall not be mentioned under threat of Marco's kicks._ '

Eyes wide in shock, the girl looked around at the crowd of men all staring at her now.

' _So not here to challenge Pops then, damn. That's always fun to watch. It doesn't look like she even knew we were here._ '

Her chest was heaving, forehead shiny with sweat. "Run."

"Whaa?" was Thatch's intelligent response. That had not been the first word he had expected from the small chit. They were pirates, Whitebeard Pirates. People didn't tell them to run.

"You need to run! They are coming!" Suddenly chains burst out of her, causing Thatch to grab his sword hilt. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see many of his brothers had reacted in a similar fashion. But instead of the chains lashing out at them, they crisscrossed over each other forming some kind of clear violet tinted barrier between the girl and them. The redhaired chit whirled around, facing the forest.

' _What now?!_ ' Whatever possibilities he had entertained coming out of the trees, armored men in weird painted masks was NOT one of them. The masked strangers surrounded the girl in a semi-circle so fast, it almost seemed like they popped out of thin air. Thatch gripped his sword hilt more firmly. Whoever those people were, they were definitely not civilians. That assumption was proven correct when the weirdos started laughing amongst themselves. ' _What is going on? Why hasn't she drawn her swords yet? They obviously aren't her friends._ '

The mask with the purple swirls was shaking his head. "Haha, who would have thought the 'Demon's Hand' trying to shield civilians even before her own execution."

Thatch's head was spinning. ' _Execution?! She's a kid. What could she have possibly done to earn a moniker like that, and get executed.. maybe she is a pirate._ ' Thatch took a deep calming breath and moved a few steps closer to the supposed barrier. _'So this thing was supposed to shield us. Doesn't seem to block light or sound, so certain attacks may be able to get through. But why is she trying to protect us instead of defending herself? Oh, the Purple-swirly is speaking again._ '

"Nothing to say? Well, at least you're going down easier than your teacher. And to think you both became traitors of Kirigakure, did he teach you treachery to?"

"We weren't traitors!" The girl was yelling now, her body so still that Thatch could have mistaken her for a statue, except her hands clenching into white knuckled fists. "Mangetsu never betrayed anyone! Kiri betrayed us." The redhead was practically hissing, shooting a venomous glare with honey gold eyes. "We fought and bled rivers for Kiri, but were still about to be hunted down for something as simple as being born. Hunted like monsters, so we left."

"No.." Purple-swirly cooed. Thatch was liking him less by the second. "Not monsters.. Demons."

"Fine.." the girl was quiet.. no longer screaming or hissing. "Then I'll show you a demon." She did some sort of strange clap with only two fingers pointing up.

' _What is she doing?_ ' Then Thatch noticed it. The barrier was moving. It shifted silently over the sand like a ghost, no longer just blocking off the Whitebeards, but enclosing the masked men and the girl in some sort of dome. His stomach twisted. Whatever was going on, it wasn't good. Was it just him or were the girl's swords glowing? He KNEW something wasn't right about those things! They suddenly seemed a lot sharper.

' _What are those weirdos doing? Are those knives?_ He had never seen short blades shaped like that. ' _Are they laughing?!_ '

The masked group was indeed laughing, some holding the strange triangle shaped blades.

"Sure, a baby demon. Trapping yourself for us!" Purple-swirly taunted.

The girl smirked. " _I'm_ not the one trapped!" Her hands moved. One had two fingers pointed to her chin, while the other hand had two fingers pointed to the sky.

' _What the-_ '

"Hiding in Mist Technique" Sure enough mist was rapidly pouring out of the redhead's mouth, filling the dome faster than Thatch thought possible. He waited for the clash of blades, the yells of some being skewered or cut. As a pirate he intimately knew the sounds of a fight, but he couldn't hear anything.

' _Did the barrier change when she moved it? No, we can still see into it, though all we can see is mist_ ' he grumbled. He looked to Pops for directions. Pops always knew what to do, but the stern expression on the man's face drew him up short. Pops usually liked a good fight. Thatch turned to Marco and Izo. The shocked look on their faces said enough. Too curious and anxious to take it any longer, he stretched out his Observation Haki, and his jaw dropped. The life aura's were disappearing, one after the other.

' _What is going on in there?!_ ' If this fight went on any longer he was going to be sick.

Finally, after was seemed far too long, but was likely only a couple minutes, the mist began to clear and the barrier flickered out of existence. He once again looked at Pops for instruction.

The giant nodded his head once, and said "Commanders only." After that strange display and the captain's stern expression on what was usually a grinning face, no one dared to protest.

They cautiously moved into the still disappearing mist, Whitebeard at the point, Marco at the captain's side. Then the smell hit and his nose scrunched up. It was a scent he was unfortunately used to, the metallic stench of blood. Finally, the mist cleared enough to see more easily. Thatch almost wished he couldn't. The girl was still there, her strange twin swords gripped tightly in her hands, but she now had blood splattered all over her. He looked around for the weird mask people, he hadn't seen any of them yet. Then he realized what those odd lumps on the ground were.. body parts. There was even an arm by his foot.. a right arm he absently noticed. Thatch had been in many battles and wasn't queasy by any means, but this wasn't a battle. This had been a massacre. He could see why they had called her a demon. Dark red hair, golden eyes, pale skin, creepy glow-y swords, yeah he could see why people might get a little freaked out, not to mention all the blood and bodies.

The girl swayed to the side, and he tensed, ready for anything she might do. But she just mumbled "Shit" and passed out. He was ready for anything… except that.

Thatch walked forward warily, curious enough to want a better look at her. His jaw dropped. This was just too much. "It's just a little kid! She's even younger than Ace!" ' _I mean, I knew she was young but I didn't think this young!_ '

Whitebeard's face turned grim. Marco looked around with narrowed eyes. "That little kid just did all this."

"What do we do with her Pops?" Ah yes, one could always count on Izo to ask the right questions.

"Put her in the infirmary with a couple of nurses to look after her. And Izo, see what you can figure out about her." Izo nodded his head and marched off to gather a couple nurses. "Vista, check over the bodies. If they were here to execute her, there will probably be something on them with information about the chit."

"What about the rest of the crew?" Marco, always the mother hen, or should it be mother phoenix?

"Let them continue with the Beach Day. No need to get everyone stirred up just to sit around the ship all day. They deserve a break."

"They're already curious about her." Izo was back. "Hannah and Meghan volunteered to watch her." Izo kneeled next to the girl. "Well, whatever she is, she's definitely a swordsmen. Even passed out she still hasn't let go of these blades." The crossdresser reached out to pull one of the twins from her iron grip. "OW!" and quickly jerked his hand back to his chest.

Marco, ever the worry-wort, jumped forward. "Pops" Marco held up Izo's hand. "Electrical burns, from the sword."

Whitebeards

's eyes narrowed. "Marco, you take the swords to the ship with Izo. You should be able to heal yourself from whatever they do."

The first mate reached down and pried the swords out of the girl's hands, blue flames instantly blossoming around his own. "They are definitely trying to electrocute me."

Izo looked up from next to the girl. "But there aren't any burns on her hands."

"Must not like other people grabbing them then." Vista lightly joked from his spot kneeling next to what appeared to be someone's lower half.

"Yeah, but this is ridiculous." Marco grunted as the flames started to spread from his hands to his wrists. "I'm going to go put these up before they start to try any harder."

Izo stood up, the redhead in his arms. "She's lighter than I expected. But she's pretty out of it. She'll probably sleep for the rest of the night at the very least." He said almost to himself as he walked toward the docking boats at the end of the beach.

' _Well, so much for a relaxing day._ '

Special Thanks to UnderneathXTHExunderneath for being a wonderful Beta. Also I do not own One Piece, or Naruto, or Carry on my Wayward Son (the lyrics in the summary).


	2. Chapter 2

Marco PoV

Marco had a headache. And as he massaged his temples in the galley, he could just tell it was only going to get worse before the day was over. The cause of it could be traced back to the Moby Dick's newest guest, well guest for now. She wasn't even awake yet and was already causing him pain. What is it with redheads and their apparent NEED to torture him? First the drunk Yonko and now this brat! And yet, for some reason, Ace couldn't stay away from her. The charcoal-for-brains had made so many attempts to get into the infirmary, including trying to injure himself, that the nurses had made it HIS problem.

"Do something about it or you don't want to know what we'll do to you." The threat didn't seem like much at first glance, but considering what happened to the last poor bastard that crossed them Marco felt there was a good reason to be concerned. The idiot had been slipped a fair amount of laxatives and then ended up having to fight off Marines in his unfortunate state. Marco definitely didn't want to discover what else their creative minds could come up with. He already had enough problems with Thatch.

But when he had confronted the flaming brat, all he got was a dark glare and a "They called her a demon."

Yes, she was going to cause him problems. Looking around the mess hall, he ignored the quiet chatter and focused on Izo and Vista. Something had unsettled them. Izo kept twirling his fan around his fingers, completely lost in thought, while Vista stood away from the crowd in the center. The swordsman leaned against a wall and glared at the corner like it had personally offended him. The only two with current knowledge of the redhead were disturbed, and his little brother couldn't wait to get close to her.

Marco sighed when the room fell silent, watching his captain take a seat on his chair. Without preamble Whitebeard motioned for Vista to speak. The swordsman held up a small open book. A book of bounties Marco realized.

"This was the only thing I could find with any sort of specific reasoning for her 'execution'. I managed to find the name she mentioned, Mangetsu."

Vista flipped through the book, before holding it up once more. There was a large red X covering the picture but Marco could still make it out. A young male with white hair and purple eyes. "Hozuki Mangetsu, moniker Second Coming of the Demon. Member of The Seven Swordsmen, an organization within The Village Hidden in Mist. Master swordsmen and Master of the 'Silent Killing Technique'. Age is listed as 24, also lists height, weight and even blood type. Apparently had something called a Water Affinity, and preferring a sword called Hiramekarei. Missions completed: D 45  C 42 B 57 A 68 S 9. Then what appears to be some sort of statistics. Ninjutsu: 4.5 Taijutsu: 5.0 Genjutsu: 3.4. Finally, the Bounty is listed as 82 million, Kill On Sight. Hiramekarei return reward is listed as 22 million. Apprentice is one Uzumaki Tsubaki."

Vista turned the page to reveal a picture of the very girl in their infirmary. She looked a lot younger in the photograph though, he would place her age in the picture to be about 8 or 9 years. "Uzumaki Tsubaki, the Moby Dick's newest guest. Monikers are 'The Demon's Right Hand' and 'The Demon's Shadow'. It lists her as 14 years old and close range fighter, wielding the thunder swords called Kiba. A Water Affinity with a secondary Lightning Affinity, still don't know what those are. Missions completed are as follows: D 15 C 24 B 45 A 20 S 1. Statistics are Ninjutsu: 3.0 Taijutsu: 4.5 Genjutsu: 1.5. Bounty: 40 million, Kill On Sight. Kiba return reward: 22 million."

The words out of Vista's mouth just became more horrifying with each passing phrase. The silence in the room became noticeably heavier.

Izo's fan was spinning faster now and he practically growled "It might as well be a step-by-step page of how to kill her."

14 years old. The number bounced around in Marco's head. This world was truly a cruel place. She was practically a toddler in the pictures. The blasted book didn't even list her crimes. On their bounties, it at least said 'Enemies of the World Government'.

Marco remembered Izo's agitated state before the meeting even began and it had only increased with Vista's report. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what their 'spy master' had found out, but nonetheless he motioned for Izo to speak. The facts shot out of Izo's mouth like bullets from a gun and Marco's focus immediately sharpened with the realization that this girl was no helpless child. Multiple long needles hidden in her braided top knot, no perfume or scented shampoo, neutral colored clothing, making it easier to hide. A metal forehead protector with 4 wavy lines and a deliberate scratch through it. Multiple scars decorating her body. Izo paused in his rant and took a deep breath. "And teeth filed into points." The commanders stiffened and all eyes flicked to Namur, a shark fishman with very noticeable sharp pointed teeth.

The fishman took a deep, centering breath. "It is very unlikely. The tensions between fishman and humans is very high. But it is not impossible. Are you sure they are filed and not natural?"

Izo just shook his head. "The nurses say based on their structure it is more likely that they are filed. But they are very smooth, with no grooves from a file at all, so they won't be 100% sure until she wakes up and tells us."

"When will that be?"

"They do not know. She is currently with a high fever. Apparently, the wound on her arm was poisoned."

Pops' voice rumbled across the room. "Is this all we know of the girl?"

Vista stepped forward. "No. When I was looking through the bodies I noticed something. All the cuts were incredibly clean, mostly horizontal. And one of those strange knives had been cut clean through. She's no amateur when it comes to those swords. And those masks… they all had the same 4 wavy lines you described, Izo."

The silence in the room became oppressive as they all pieced together the painting the information painted. Some kind of child soldier, hunted by her own people.

Marco sensed two presences approaching the door and he turns his head to watch it, absently noting everyone else copy him. Soon they could hear Ace behind it.

"You can't go in there."

"You mean shouldn't, not can't." Marco didn't recognize this new voice. It was a clipped soprano, his zoan senses picking up a light, almost undetectable lisp. The door opened and a flash of red slipped through it with Ace on its heels. It was the girl, Tsubaki, he recalled.

 _Where is her shirt?!_ The question echoed in the back of his mind as his eyes focused on what its lack revealed. An impressive amount of muscle tone and an assortment of scars of varying sizes littered her arms, hands, and one stretched from her navel to her hip. The metal headband that once rested on her forehead now siting against her collarbones, encircling a scar on her neck like some sort of macabre photo frame. Her hair was unbound, wavy from its previous braid, and now reached her waist. Its color sent an uncomfortable memory of the drunk-shouldn't-be-a-Yonko-brat. However, Marco pushed all those details aside to think about later. Instead he took in how she walked with a steady pace, her eyes flitted around the room before taking in each of its occupants one at a time. Though, when those eyes reached him he felt his insides freeze. Something wasn't right about them. Then her scent reached him and felt himself become even more off balance.

Finally, her gaze focused on Whitebeard and he felt like he could move again. She came to a stop just outside anyone's reach. Namur was the closest and even he would have to take another two steps before he could touch her. Tsubaki crossed her arms underneath her bound chest and her golden eyes seemed to be trying to bore into the giant captain like a drill. Then her crisp high-pitched voice reached his ears.

"I dislike politicking and round-about speech. So, I'll speak plainly. What do you want?"

That... was not what Marco had expected, and apparently Pops felt similar judging by his climbing eyebrows.

"What do you mean, girl?" his question echoed around the room, demanding an answer.

"I am not a naive fool. I know that ninja are weapons. Tools to be picked up and discarded at will. I see the Bingo Book in the swordsman's hand. You know I have a bounty. You neither killed me nor left me. You do not plan to turn me into my village for hope of a higher reward or you would not have attempted to heal and bandage my wounds, as unnecessary as it was. No one does something without hope for gain. So, what do you want?"

"For now answers will do." The golden eyes focused on him at the sound of his voice, and he felt ice run through his veins.

"What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with the easy questions first. How old are you?"

"What's the date?"

"February 21st"

"Then I am still 14."

Marco held back a sigh. He had hoped the book had been inaccurate for some stupid reason. "Are you a pirate?"

"No."

"Why did you try to protect us?" The question had been bothering him for a while. Why had this complete stranger attempted to help them when she was capable of the massacre he had seen.

"It was my fight. I didn't need random civilians getting in my way."

Marco held back a chuckle at her answer. The little chit obviously had no idea who the pirates were. His brothers and sisters were anything but random civilians.

She was answering the questions with a cold detachment like they were about someone else, years ago, not just yesterday. It was starting to piss him off. But he pushed it down. Ignored everything else in the room except her. They needed to know what they had stumbled on.

"Are others looking for you? Are you in danger?" He locked his gaze with hers. Searching for any sign of life behind that cold gaze.

"Actively hunting me? Just Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in Mist. The other ninja villages can't be bothered with me unless I threaten them first. Of course, that doesn't mean they won't turn in my head and swords for their bounty if they come across me. I'll probably be dead within the month. Especially since Mist will know my general location sometime within the next two weeks."

Marco couldn't detect any sign of lying. Again, she spoke with that damned cold detachment. It was getting harder to keep his temper in check.

"The people after you. They wore that symbol, the one around your neck. I doubt they were normal bounty hunters. What does it mean, and what were they?"

"This is the symbol of Kirigakure. All ninja from there wear this symbol. The cut through mine shows I am a missing-nin, a ninja who was deserted their village, and have cut all ties with my village. They were Hunter-nin, they hunt down missing-nin and destroy the bodies immediately so that village secrets can't be revealed."

 _'_ _This is what they want to do to you, not take you out drinking! Show some fucking emotion damnit!'_

Apparently, his father sensed the looming snap of his self-control and quickly interjected with a subject change. "Are you a fishman?"

It looked like Pops was able to crack that annoying mask of hers even if it was only a bit of confusion.

"A what?" Maybe her heritage was hidden from her, though she should still know what a fishman was.

Whitebeard was able to patiently explain, like he was answering a toddler's question. Of course, to old captain, she might as well be a toddler. "One of the humanoid species that live in and rule the ocean. Namur is a fishman and you have teeth similar to his. Fishman Island is under my protection. I can take you there."

Tsubaki glanced at the 8th commander before refocusing her gaze on the Yonko. "No. My teeth were filed when I was accepted as Mangetsu's apprentice. All of the 7 Swordsmen if Mist Village, as well as those intending to join them, have their teeth filed. I became an official member when I achieved Jounin ranking. But I am easily the weakest when compared to the other members."

Ace broke. "What about the power you used. The barrier and the mist didn't look like nay devil fruit I've seen." Marco had been wondering how long Ace would be able to stay quiet. Any longer and he would have gone to get a nurse.

"I do not know what this 'Devil Fruit' is. I used jutsu."

"What the fuck is a jutsu?"

"A technique utilizing chakra. I suppose you want to know what chakra is too?" she drawled.

Oh, so the dead eyed girl had some bite in her after all. But Marco wasn't having it. "Yes, we would like to know what that is."

"Chakra is the combination of spiritual and physical energy within a person. However, like blood, each person has a finite amount. Use too much and you will die."

"Why are you telling us all this, honestly too. Pops would know if you were lying. I doubt you trust us already." That stupid brat just had to open his mouth. Marco had been wondering the same, but hadn't been stupid enough to risk changing the situation when it was beneficial to them.

"Because I have yet to tell you anything that my hunters do not already know themselves. The majority of people where I am from know this. The information is overall useless to you." Marco was willing to admit that the girl was smarter than he had originally given her credit for after hearing that.

"You have given us much to think about. We will ask you more questions at a later time." Whitebeard had ended the conversation before she could regain control of it with a clear dismissal. Marco had expected at least a slight protest, but she just nodded and left the room. He thought that had gone much easier than he had originally expected and said as such.

"We have her swords hostage. I doubt she would willingly leave without them." Jozu made a good point, as usual. At least somethings are still normal, well, as normal as the Moby Dick could be.

"It's not that. Did you see her eyes?" The fire brat was strangely subdued.

"They are rather pretty, but I don't think that's what you're getting at." Jozu was obviously curious now.

"They were empty. They might have been glass for all the emotion they showed." Marco was glad to finally be able to let a little of his frustration show.

"I saw eyes like hers a couple of times in the Trash Heap by the forest I grew up in," Ace nodded. "People with those eyes don't care whether they live or die."

Marco decided now was as good of a time as any to share what he had noticed when the redhead had first walked in. "That's not the only thing that's off about her. She smells like blood. And she doesn't make any sound when she moves. Not her steps or even the rustle of her clothes."

"Is... Is she a ghost?" Leave it to Thatch to change the mood.

"Idiot!" Izo smacked Thatch with his fan. Maybe he was hoping to finally knock some sense into the man. Marco wished him luck, he had been trying that same tactic and failing for years. "I carried her on board. Remember?"

"But still," the idiot was still arguing. "If Marco, a zoan with his magical-birdy-enhanced-senses can't hear her…" Marco tuned out the rest of Thatch's rambling with practiced ease. Instead he focused on his captain's face. He knew that look. Seemed like he was going to get a new sister. This one was going to be even more troublesome than Ace; he just knew it. With a groan, he let his head fall onto the table. He could feel the future headaches she would cause already.

 **Special thanks to** **UnderneathXtheXUnderneath** **for being a wonderful beta. I do not own One Piece or Naruto. However I do own Tsubaki.**


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